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The newest Republican version of healthcare just passed the House and was instantly declared D.O.A. in the Senate. Which is good; it’s not enough of a fix. Then again, neither was the A.C.A. (otherwise known as Obamacare).

I’m not going to get into all the whithertos and whyfores right now; you can get that on every news channel. (Besides, I’ve already written about it a couple of times. Both are great articles; read them.) Instead, I’m going to tell you (more…)

When last night’s vote on H.R. 1628, the Republican healthcare bill, was cancelled, Democrats across the country were overjoyed. In particular, the minority leaders for the House and Senate, Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer, were delighted to take ownership for the bill’s defeat. Speaker Ryan was evidently quite disappointed in defeat, and President Trump was quick to cast blame.

On the face of it, that’s the whole story. Obamacare (the ACA) is the law of the land and likely to remain so for another year at least. The Republicans tried and failed; the Democrats won an unlikely (more…)

President Donald J. Trump: The words are painful for many of us. This is understandable; his persona is not one that engenders trust and comfort, and we’ve had it easy for eight years. Obama was quietly charismatic and sought bipartisanship; Trump is almost diametrically opposite. So yes, it’s a bit of a shock.

Once again, President Trump spoke out against the Fake News, this time at the CPAC conference at National Harbor. To be fair, it sounded a lot more powerful when he was talking. It sounded impressive, deeply meaningful, profound even. And then I read the words.

Trump sounds great in person. When you’re watching him with an open mind, he’s an incredibly powerful speaker — but he doesn’t say much. He’s a skilled orator who uses a third-grade vocabulary to convey simple ideas and make them seem powerful.

I owe an explanation to my loyal readers: I’m not going Democrat or Republican, and I’m not suddenly anti-Trump any more than I am anti-Clinton.

The reason I’m here, saying the things I’m saying, is that nobody else seems to be doing it. CNN and Fox News have stopped reporting what is and are each now spinning absurd fictions — not, I think, because they want to sway our opinions, but because they honestly can’t come to grips with the actual truth long enough to put it into words.

And the horrifying truth is, we’re all terrified and angry and disgusted because President Donald Trump is keeping his campaign promises (more…)

There’s tons of articles about Trump’s character, how he won the election, obstructionism then and now, and so on. Yesterday the media message was all about fake news; right now the big thing is his cabinet confirmation process, and tomorrow there’ll be something else, depending on what people choose to be scandalized about. But in the mean while, things will be happening, and we shouldn’t lose sight of them amid all the hype.

So let’s boil it down to essentials: We’ve got a brand new president coming in, and his platform was Reform. (more…)